Chicken Cacciatore

This is one of America's best renditions from the collection of classic Italian dishes. Tender, savory chicken is complimented by a lustful stew-like mixture of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and wine. 

Ingredients:

• 8 boneless chicken breasts
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 Tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth (I used Swanson brand)
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup of dry red wine (I used Merlot)
• Parsley, to garnish

Directions:

• Heat oil in large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add chicken (I sliced the breasts down the middle the long way to have the appearance of more chicken and to make it cook faster and more evenly.) Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook for about 8 mins, flipping sides periodically. Transfer to plate.
• The key here is to brown the chicken lightly on all sides without cooking it too long. There will be long periods of time when the rest of the ingredients are added where the chicken will be soaked under lower heat to tenderize.
• Turn heat down to medium-low. Add peppers, onion, and pepper flakes and cook until the veggies soften, about 8 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for about 2 more minutes. Garlic tends to burn quickly and become bitter, so you don't want to put it in with the veggies initially. Now it's time for the wine - pour in the red wine allowing it to soak into the veggies for about 5 minutes. Be VERY careful with the wine. Because it has sugar in it, wine can be very prone to carmelizing too quickly and burning, thus charring the veggies. Just make sure the heat is low at this point and you stir often. 
• Add broth and tomatoes to pan. Stir this "stew" to evenly distribute all of the ingredients. Then add the chicken. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. This will give the effect of a slow cooker which will tenderize the chicken and allow it to have the explosive flavor of the ingredients of the stew. Every stovetop is different, so make sure to keep an eye on this last step to ensure the veggies don't burn. 
• Add parsley to garnish. Serve over bed of pasta.

Serves 6.

~Geno